Tesla's beamed power becomes reality

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology made a 60-watt light bulb glow by sending it energy wirelessly — from a device 7 feet away — potentially heralding a future in which cellphones and other gadgets get their juice without having to be plugged in.

The breakthrough, disclosed Thursday in Science Express, the online publication of the journal Science, is being called "WiTricity" by the scientists.

The concept of sending power wirelessly isn't new, but it has been dismissed as inefficient because the electromagnetic energy generated by the charging device radiates in all directions.

One advance was announced last fall, when MIT physics professor Marin Soljacic said he had figured out how to use specially tuned waves that don't radiate as much. The key is to get the recharging device and the gadget that needs power on the same frequency, similar to how a radio picks up only one station at a time.